What say you? I haven't been on this forum long but it seems to me that each drummer will have a different response to different pedals regardless of what is the norm.

I say that if there were one single design that worked best for everyone, there would not be the amazing variety of kick pedals out there.

Mechanically, the Fleetfoot/Camco/DW5000 "goalposts and side spring" overall form factor seems to have dominated, although there are several notable ones that don't follow that pattern.

I haven't been playing long, but I am very picky and love to try out gear and I find the current modern top-of-the-line offerings to be too heavy and sluggish for me. Iron Cobra, DW5000 and up, Pearl Eliminator, etc. are just too massy for my taste.

Older DW5000's with the smaller footboard are what I like. Just the lower inertia of that lighter footboard makes a difference I can feel. Single chain or strap drive.

So the complete opposite of your tastes: I love a single-chain DW. Iron Cobras feel heavy to me.

It could be that your leg and foot just got used to the geometry and weight of an IC, so now it just feels right, even all these years later. Body and muscle memory is an amazing thing.